Jeremy Corbyn has accused the Tories of “transparently failing” on Brexit and leading Britain towards the “economic disaster” of leaving the EU without a deal.
The Labour leader said Theresa May’s Government was in a “shocking mess” over Britain’s exit from the EU in his speech to the Co-Operative Party conference on Saturday.
He added they were making a Brexit without a deal with the EU more likely, which he warned could cause a “jobs meltdown”.
“The Tories are transparently failing in the Brexit negotiations,” he told delegrates in London.
“They are making a shocking mess of Brexit. They are split down the middle, negotiating with each other instead of the EU.
“With each passing day they are driving us closer to a no-deal Brexit.”
As Brexit negotiations continue, the prime minister has said that “no deal is better than a bad deal”.
But Corbyn warned in his speech that a no-deal Brexit could mean “economic disaster” in “sector after sector”.
“The risk would be that key manufacturers leave for the European mainland, taking skilled jobs with them,” he warned.
“Theresa May’s Cabinet of chaos is risking a jobs meltdown across Britain.
“A powerful faction of the Tories want a no-deal outcome because they think they can use it to turn our economy into a deregulated tax haven. We must not let them.”
Corbyn also mocked Chancellor Philip Hammond’s claim at Conservative Party Conference earlier this month that Labour represents “an existential challenge to our economic model”.
“Well Philip, yes we do,” Corbyn said, adding the party would not “sit back” while homelessness spiralled.
“Their economic model is broken,” he added of the Tories.
The Co-Operative Party does not field its own political candidates but 38 Labour MPs were elected on a joint ticket with the party.
Corbyn also hit out at Donald Trump and North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Un, accusing both of them of “macho posturing” in the war of words between the two countries over North Korea’s nuclear ambitions.
He said: “We live in a world riven by conflict, spurred on by ego and neo-imperial ambition.
“Never has the time been more important to restate our commitment to the UN Charter, the third clause of which states its aim ‘to achieve international co-operation in solving international problems’.
“Whether it’s Donald Trump or Kim Jong-Un – macho posturing needs to give way to calm, rational co-operation.”